Tiny but Tough
by Forbidden Blue Rose
Summary: Luna has a difficult time figuring what to get Bo for a gift and when she finally gets an idea, things don't go as planned. BoxLuna Secret Santa gift for Shimmerleaf


_Crash._

Pieces went everywhere, some in small chunks, and some in bigger ones. Dirt and potted soil managed to stay all together for the most part….except for the bit that managed to get on and in my new pair of pink shoes.

To put it bluntly, everything was ruined. Everything I worked so hard for, everything I fretted over and got worried for...it was all for nothing. This wasn't supposed to happen. This is all wrong. It feel likes a bad dream…but the fact that the object I was holding so proudly a few minutes ago was suddenly hit, knocked out of my hands, and fell on to the ground with a nice "splat" sound effect makes me think otherwise.

Maybe this whole thing was a disaster in the making. I don't know. It didn't feel that way at first…but maybe I was just too over confident. Maybe this all didn't work it out because I didn't plan enough worse-case scenarios and was too busy thinking about how to react cool in front of him.

It all started out with a Secret Santa gift exchange. After the five years of playing "Santa" and being in charge of giving gifts to everyone, Hamilton decided that we should do a gift exchange and have everyone both receive gifts and give gifts, instead.

I didn't mind the new change this year. It was kind of boring waiting for presents from a fat man who attempted to come down in people's chimneys every year (Seriously, Hamilton…maybe the real Santa can do it…but you just can't.) and dealing with the occasional wrong or bad gift was difficult. Last year, I got fish soup while Candace got mayonnaise. It was a good thing that Grandma prepared some more appropriate gifts for us that year. I gave the fish soup to the cute cat by the lighthouse instead.

Hamilton placed all of our names on slips of paper in a large (and dorky) hat, shook the names up, and had us all pick out a slip that didn't have our name on it. I pulled out my chosen slip of paper, read the name on it, and nearly had a heart attack.

Bo.

Now don't get me wrong, he's a great guy. In fact, I happened to _really_ liked him. He was cute, charming, friendly, a real nice guy, and compared to Luke…he's like a breath of fresh air.

But as to what he likes? I had absolutely no idea.

I began to panic. I didn't want to disappoint him or have him grow to hate me by giving him the wrong present…but I had no idea what he likes or even wants for Christmas (or if he even wants anything). And it's not like I could go up to him and ask him because that would totally ruin the element of surprise and the fun of Christmas!

So I decided to do something drastic; spying. I was confident that I could find something he was into by watching him for a day. Yeah, it was a silly idea and I did it a little over the top…but it managed to work out somehow, but definitely not how I planned.

After deciding this was what I was *officially* going to do, I ran from the shop to the mining district, jumping into bushes if I thought somebody was coming my way. As I said, I did it a little over the top. Recalling back on it, it was quite childish and embarrassing…

Finally, I reached the mining district. I checked out the Carpenter's first, and it turned out they were closed that day. I was frustrated, but it was cool. I could handle it. Definitely.

So while trying to not appear obvious I was looking for him, I began checking out some of the other shops and the scenery in the area. Soon, I found myself getting absorbed in shopping and found myself carrying bags all the way up to my knees (which isn't much, really…but it was a lot for me!).

I truly forgot about the whole spying-to-get-Christmas-gift-ideas-for-Bo until I actually saw him as I was walking out of the Accessory shop. At the time, I didn't know what he was doing, and was too busy watching him.

Suddenly, Chloe appeared out of nowhere from the corner of my eye and screamed "It's mine! Hyaa~" Then something large and red came flying towards my direction and–

Bam!

It slammed right on my face. It was a large, red bell and it weighed a ton. It was so heavy; it knocked me out cold on the ground. But despite how much I would hate the pain later on, getting hit by the bell actually provided some use.

It was really strange, but somehow...getting hit in the head by that stupid bell caused me to remember something from a couple of months ago.

It was fall, Bo and Luke were over at the shop to do some repair work on the roof that Grandma had ordered them to do. At the time, I was so busy making sure that Luke didn't do something stupid, that I didn't fully hear Bo comment how he loved green bell flowers when he saw a box of green bell seeds we ordered to plant for this winter.

Now how getting hit in the head by a giant red bell triggered that faint memory, I don't think I can explain. But somehow, by perhaps the grace of the Harvest Goddess, it worked and I knew what I was going to get Bo.

I don't know how long I was knocked out, but it couldn't have been too long since when I woke up, Chloe was poking me with a stick and Bo looked really worried and was repeating my name numerous times over and over again.

Bo took a deep sigh of relief when he realized I was awake and not dead. Chloe just stared at me with her wide eyes in awe and shouted "Whoa! Look at that big sucker! It's not even five minutes after she got hit and already a HUGE bump is starting to swell on her head! It sure is a beauty!"

Unsure what she meant, I touched my head. Sure enough I felt a jolt of pain as I lightly touched my head where I could feel a large bump swelling. Joy.

After a few seconds of readjusting to my new surroundings, it finally dawned on me how my cover had been blown and how embarrassing this whole situation was. I suddenly grabbed my shopping bags and dashed out of the district, ignoring Bo's request to take me to the Clinic to check my head. I told him I could go by myself. Not sure if he trusted me or was truly comfortable with me going by myself…but I kind of gave him no choice as I ran out of there as my life depended on it. I may be small, but I can be fast.

But I did keep up my word; I did check myself at the Clinic. Doctor Jin said I was fine, but that my head would be hurting for awhile and I'd have that huge bruise for at least two to three weeks. It was definitely inconvenient, but it definitely could've been worse.

For the rest of the week, I began preparing for Bo's present and for Christmas Day. I already had a flower growing so I just transferred it into a very nice red flower pot. I thought about getting him just seeds so he could just grow it himself, but there weren't many days of the season left for it to grow and I didn't think it would be that fun if he had to wait a year to actually use his gift. I watered it every day, and tied a really fancy green bow around it, just to add to the Christmas theme and whatnot.

Finally, Christmas Day arrived. I was super excited and eager to give Bo his present. The flower was in full bloom and it looked really healthy. How it does so well in the winter, I don't know…but it's nice to have flowers grow even in the bitterest of cold seasons.

It was around 7 a.m., and I already was on my way to deliver the present. When I got near the mining district (and right next to the Carpenters) I saw Bo with his back facing my direction. At first, I didn't know what to make of it and, foolishly, I dismissed it.

So there I was, running towards him while holding his gift in front of me so proudly, trying to emphasize on the surprise element as much as I could. I was right behind him when I piped up

"Merry Christmas, Bo! Here is your Secret Santa gift that I got for you! Enjoy!" But instead of turning around to face me, Bo did something so quick and unexpected; he ducked. For a split second, I had no idea why. But when I saw a flash of red coming towards me, I knew. Too bad my reflexes are poor.

Crash.

So yep, that stupid red bell crashed into me again; only it wasn't me this time…it was the flower pot. The bell destroyed the pot to pieces, sending them scattering all over the place. In amidst the destruction of the flower pot, somehow I myself managed to catch the red bell, although it hurled me a few steps back.

"Whoa! That catch was AWESOME, Luna!" Chloe exclaimed with intense glee. "You should totally play kick the can with us more often! Let's do it aga- O-oh n-no! Your flower pot got smashed…and that was Bo's Secret Santa gift? O-oh n-n-no…I'm sorry."

"Luna…" Bo murmured. His face began to grow sadder as he finally started to realize what had happened when he looked away.

I sat there for a few seconds and just felt my heart slowly sink. I was a little frazzled from how fast everything happened, but soon everything came to me as I saw Bo's green bell flower lying on the ground surrounded by some pot soil. Tears began swelling up in my eyes, and to avoid Bo seeing me cry, I ran. Bo started calling out for me, but I was too ashamed to see him.

I didn't run far though, I just ran to the waterfall area. I could hear the responses of some annoyed duck and monkey, but I didn't give them much attention and they soon calmed down.

I sat there for a while. It was just a couple of minutes, but it was pretty calming for me to sit there and just cry my eyes out…not having to worry about others seeing me. But I was truly ashamed of myself. Why did this have had to happen to my Secret Santa gift? Maybe it would've been okay if it was MY gift…but this wasn't fair to Bo.

Soon, I began hearing footsteps heading towards my direction and getting closer. It was Bo.

"There you are, Luna!" he said, a bit out of breath and looking like he was worried. "You ran off in such a hurry that I wasn't able to give you this. Merry Christmas, Luna. Here is your Secret Santa gift." He pulled out something from his pocket and placed it into my hands. It was a gorgeous sakura shell necklace. It was pretty simple, but it was beautiful…and pink.

My eyes started watering again, "Wow…th-thank you so much!" I stammered. "But I can't accept this wonderful gift…especially since I ruined your Secret Santa gift!" Tears started cascading down my face about as hard and as fast as the waterfall behind us.

Bo looked dumbfounded, "Ruined? How so? Oh…that… Don't worry about that! The flower pot may be broken, but the flower is still preserved and we can just get it a new flower pot. It's tiny, but it's tough. Kind of like you, Luna~"

I didn't know how to respond to this…so I just said nothing as my face turned to the color of a tomato.

Bo reached out for my hand and smiled at me, "Let's go fix that now. Chloe went off to look for another flower pot. Do you mind if I use that green ribbon the other flower pot had on? I really liked it." I nodded my head in response and began to smile.

The two of us walked back to the mining district and tended to the flower. Chloe came back and said she couldn't find a flower pot nearby…so Bo decided to plant the flower in the red bell (which we turned upside down). It was really awkward…but it worked. For the remaining afternoon, I played "kick the can" with Bo and Chloe. Only this time, we used an actual soda can instead of a big, heavy red bell.

That Christmas was definitely an eventful one. Nothing really went as I planned, but things turned out well in the end. And for that, I am grateful.

Okay, despite that this is a pretty rushed one…I'm pretty proud of this sucker.

And shimmerleaf, I know you said that third person was how you prefer your stories…but I just felt that the story called for first person…or at least it would've been better off as first person. So if that disappoints you, I am truly sorry but I did my best to try and copy Luna's personality/way of speaking through this fic…and I think I did pretty well. So hopefully you still like this.

I will be frank, this was pretty difficult, but mostly because I myself have never been a fan of BoxLuna before and I had a hard time to work out the kinks. Surprisingly, I ended up enjoying this oneshot and this pair a lot more than I expected. I guess I converted myself? I don't know. Either way, it was fun to do. Worrying how I was going to get it to you not a week after Christmas was the hardest part though. *Is not allowed on the computer at my house…but my mom managed to convince my step-dad otherwise just for today*

But yes, I included the red bell and Chloe in this. From all of my Harvest Moon game playing, that was one of the most memorable scenes for me. I love Chloe. XD

Anyway, I just hope you like it Shimmerleaf and I hope that other BoxLuna fans like it as well.

Happy holidays to all~


End file.
